Tuesday 4 July 2017

Improv floating squares: some progress


I'm still improvising on Score 1 in The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood.
I've set my limits to:
  • only use solids
  • only use two colours plus the filler fabric
  • use one of the two colours from one section in the neighbouring section, and try to avoid squared off sections - this last one is tricky!
  • cut the squares in two sizes in each section, although I seem to have introduced a third size in most of them at some point. ..... Hmm!
It took me some time to understand how I wanted it to be. In the first two sections (on the left) I used much more filler fabric, where I could have been using squares. I find the other four sections much more satisfactory. Once I'd worked out a strategy for sewing the squares together the sections came together really quickly. The arrangement is still random. I'm enjoying working from this book where ideas are given and suggestions made rather than pattern instructions to achieve a known result. It is a learning experience, but I still have to trust my own judgement completely. Somewhere in the book Sherri writes that you can make a quilt top in 2 hours! Why have I been staring at this on my design wall for the last three months without setting a stitch?



I've been doing it off and on for ages; the last three months I didn't sew much at all. This weekend, however, I went crazy and made the pink and green section and then the green and blue section, changed the orange and brown section, and added some filler pieces in an effort to get the sections to fit together. 

The AHIQ invitation for this last quarter was to combine two blocks in a piece. I thought about it! I thought about a lot of things recently without getting much done. But life's like that sometimes. I'll leave you with a quote from the nineteenth century Scottish poet Robert Louis Stevenson:
"What is this life if full of care, 
We have no time to stand and stare."
That just about justifies my lack of progress in the past three months.

I'm linking to 
AHIQ 
Pop over there to see a wonderful display of improvised piecing,
especially those designs using two blocks.

Happy sewing

Marly.

7 comments:

Julierose said...

I can totally empathize with not making one in 2 hours!!;}}}
I love how your's is coming along--very nice selection of colors and placement...hugs, Julierose

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Creativity hits me like that too. Bet it felt good to have that surge of inspiration!

Vireya said...

So good to see your blog pop up in my blog reader again. I was concerned when it was so long since you posted. Welcome back!

Kaja said...

I can't even begin to imagine making a quilt in 2 hours! I like how yours is coming along though, and it's interesting to hear your reflections on working this way. Thanks for linking up with AHIQ.

Unknown said...

Improvised is difficult and time consuming for me, i love what you have done so far

Ruth said...

I love how this is comng together. I must admit I find improv like this really intimidating and admire your progress and thought processes.

Sandy Panagos said...

I really love the look of this and admire you doing it. As much as I love improv it seems to take me forever. It's much harder than it looks. Yours looks wonderful.